Toowoomba Regional Council (TRC) has this week endorsed continued financial and in-kind support for the iconic Toowoomba Chronicle Garden Competition which is held each year to coincide with the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers.
TRC Councillors voted to continue Council's long-standing support of the event by providing $23,500 in cash support and $27,720 in in-kind assistance for the 2024 garden competition.
Toowoomba Region Mayor Geoff McDonald said it was important to highlight that all Councillors support the iconic event and want to see the best outcome for gardeners and visitors who come from far and wide to see Toowoomba's private gardens on show each September.
"Discussion at yesterday's Council meeting centred around the premise of a potential re-think about how the competition is delivered. The discussion was mostly about how Council could provide extra support for the event, never about not supporting the event at all as has been misreported today.
"All Councillors support the event and want to see the best outcome for gardeners, visitors and locals alike.
"Sponsorship of the Toowoomba Chronicle's Garden Competition is only one element of Council's massive commitment to the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers which recently won a Gold award for best event in Australia for the 2022 edition at the Australian Tourism Industry Awards in Darwin.
"The garden competition is an iconic component of the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers each year and Council wants to see the competition flourish well into the future.
"TRC invested more than $980,000 to deliver the 2023 Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers. Council is very appreciative of support from the community and local business sector which assists with overall event costs.
"In 2023, the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers returned $21,517,868 of direct and incremental spending to the Toowoomba economy, representing a 2,095 per cent return on Council's investment," Mayor McDonald said.
